Sports Direct calls for investigation of Nike-Adidas market dominance
Sports Direct calls for investigation of Nike-Adidas market dominance
Posted on 15 Oct 2019
Nike recently issued a statement announcing that they will be ceasing supplying independent retailers with Nike branded products within two years. Nike have said that this is due to the retailer sales methods no longer aligning with the US company's own strategy as it shifts its focus online.
A Nike spokesman said: "Nike continually evaluates the marketplace and competitive landscape to understand how we can best serve consumers. As part of this, from time to time we do make adjustments to our sales channels, in order to optimise distribution."
Sports Direct, majority-owned and run by Mike Ashley, has voiced concerns about the dominance of Adidas and Nike and the high level of supplier power that they have in the sportswear industry. The company is suggesting a Europe-wide investigation into the sportswear industry and what can be done about the Nike- Adidas "extremely strong bargaining position".
There are also concerns that Adidas will follow suit; a source told the Sunday Times: "All those companies that built a business on the back of Nike and Adidas are toast - there's no way they can replace that [business]."
Driving footfall back to the high street
Concerns that major cycling brands may also begin following the Nike distribution decisions have already been voiced. Most brands already have efficient consumer-facing websites that are popular. A 2018 article evaluating the competitiveness of online and physical retailers stated that "The prices that consumer-direct brands are able to achieve are so drastic, it's throwing off the scale by which we evaluate bikes." A solution often preached to shops battling online prices is to become "more service-oriented", although this can fail to bring in the levels of revenue as selling products does.
The solution offered through the recent ACT and NearSt partnership allows LBDs to become more easily accessible by automatically connecting the products currently hidden within stores to the millions of local shoppers searching for them, in real-time, through a simple integration with the Point of Sale system.
The aim of NearSt is to enables customers to quickly and easily find what they are looking for in-store, supporting local businesses and stemming the flow of business to the online retail giants.
For more information about NearSt and how it can help you boost footfall within your shop visit the ActSmart website.
